Plastic container and method of making same



July 17, 1956 c. A. MOORE 2,754,365

PLASTIC CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 9, 1952 INVENTOR July 17, 1956 G. A. MOORE 2,754,865

PLASTIC CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Aug. 9, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 |El 4- 5 r a (8 I 9 I I 4b I/ l g T I I T 5 w I l E INVENTOR United States Patent i PLASTIC CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME George Arlington Moore, New York, N. Y. Application August 9, 1952, Serial No. 303,492 6 Claims. (Cl. 150-.5)

This invention relates to a plastic container having a flexible closure without metal parts and adapted to be hermetically sealed, the container being made in halves and assembled by plastically welding two halves together. The halves are adapted to be printed while being made.

Plastic containers of conventional types usually employ threaded metal caps with which to open and close the container. The accessible opening of such containers is restricted in size. The restriction of the closures and the cost of the closure adaptations is relatively expensive resulting in restricted use of such containers.

It is an object of the instant invention to provide plastic containers adapted for commercial distribution of a wide variety of consumer products including smoking tobacco.

It is another object of this invention to provide printed plastic containers having a flexible plastic closure adapted to provide a wide opening through which to fill the container and close same with a hermetic seam across the closed mouth thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide plastic containers adapted to enter fields of commodity distribution beyond the utility of conventional plastic bottle type containers.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent upon reading the following descriptive disclosure read in conjunction with the illustrative accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a completed plastic container in accordance with the instant invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the container with open mouth serving either filling or dispensing purposes,

Fig. 3 is'an elevational view of one end of the container with utility flaps at the top of the container disposed in upward position,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a body-half of the container in relation with a fragmentary part of another half-body,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the body-half of the container in cross-section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 5a is a front elevation in cross-section of the container half taken on line 5a5a in Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a side view in cross-section of the die used in forming the body-half of the container, the base of the die being disposed in an upward position,

Fig. 7 is a side view in cross-section of the die with a sheet of plastic disposed on the top surface of the die, and

Fig. 8 is a side view in cross-section of the die containing the formed body-half of the container.

The container 4 (Fig. 1) is made of any suitable plastic sheet having thermoplastic properties, preferably polyethylene of suitable composition to form sheets adapted to be pre-heated and molded in suitable dies by utilizing gaseous-fluid pressure with which to line the Walls of the mold with the said pre-heated plastic sheet. The shape of the container facilitates utilizing marginal areas of the opposed side walls 5 thereof to form a flexible closure at the top of the said walls having wing-flaps 6 2,754,865 Patented July 17, 1956 disposed on opposite sides of a neck marginal wall 7 extending across the top of the container. The con-.

tainer is provided with a bottom 8, two opposed side walls 5 having inwardly curving areas 5a adjacent the top of the container, and two opposed united end Walls 9.

The container is made by assembling and heat-fusing two molded half-body parts together. The container shape is such that it is not required to mold a right and left hand part. The shape of the one half-body of the container (Figs. 4, 5 and 50) provides one half of the bottom wall 8, one side wall 5 having one end thereof curved inwardly, two opposed half walls 10, a seam forming face 11 and a marginal neck area 7 a part of which provides the wing-flap 6.

A sheet of pre-heated plastic 12 (Fig. 7) raised to suitable temperature is positioned over the open face of the die mold 13 having a sectional movable bottom wall 14. The die 13 provides a cavity having wall shape corresponding to the half-body wall shape of the container hereinbefore described. The pro-heated plastic sheet 12 may be provided with facilities for control thereof when the surface is subjected to pressure sufiicient to force the plastic against the inner walls of the mold 13. Alternatively, the mold cavity may be made adaptable to become partially evacuated whereby the resultant depression pulls the pre-heated plastic sheet 12 to snugly line the walls of the cavity in the mold. The molded plastic body/la is provided with slight edge projections 16 adapted to reinforce and slightly increase the width of the seam forming face 11.

The molded body 4a is ejected from the mold 13 and centrally positioned over a corresponding body 4b (Fig. 5) in seam forming face to face engaging relationship. A thin metal strip 17 of suitable alloy is placed over the marginal neck area 7 of the body 4a and covered with the corresponding neck area 7 of the body 4b. The seam forming faces 11 are heated to suitable temperature to fuse each to the other. The inserted metal strip 17 prevents the faces of the parallel marginal areas 7 from fusing together, except at areas of plastic uncovered by the said strip illustrated by sides 18 extended outwardly of the opposed Walls 10 of the body 4a (Fig. 4).

The completed container 4 (Fig. 2) may be opened for filling purposes by pressing the end walls 9 in opposing directions. This action bows outwardly the marginal area of the opposed walls 5 to provide a liberal opening area do in the mouth of the container. After filling the container with the intended product, the walls close in flat face to face engagement (Fig. 3). The parallel wing flaps 6 are upwardly disposed while sealing the neck area 7 of the closed mouth of the container. Heat-sealing irons adapted with non-tacking faces and suitable electrical heating cartridges or calrods may be employed to close upon each side of the said wall neck area '7 to elevate the temperature of the engaging faces of the said area to unite the inner faces together to constitute a hermetic seam across the mouth of the container.

The Wing-flaps 6 (Figs. 1 and 3) may be used to open the container to any degree of opening desired. Grasping the Wing-flaps with the fingers and pulling outwardly in opposite directions, shears the heat-sealed seam apart, the flexibility of the plastic walls 5 and 9 of the container provides facilities to open the mouth thereof in the same manner as hereinbefore described when filling the container.

The plastic container 4 (Fig. 1) may be economically printed with appropriate brand design in the following manner. The sectional part 14 of the molding die 13 (Fig. 6) provides a flat'face 20 adapted to be suitably etched with an engraved section thereof for printing purpose. Alternatively, a separate printing plate may be attached to the face 20. The part 14 serves to provide a base wall of the die Band is adapted to move upwardly to dispose the face 20 outwardly from the face 21 of the die 13. In the said upwardly disposed position an inking roll 22 previously provided with a surface of suitable ink, is run over the surface 20 to deposit the ink into the etched engraved section thereof. The etched part 14 of the die 13 moves downwardly in the cavity 23 of the die 13, the face 20 providing the bottom wall of the die. Prior to the positioning of the pre-heated plastic sheet 12 upon the face 21 of the die 13, gaseous fluid pressure is hereinbefore described, forces the plastic upon the walls of the molding die cavity including the ink covered etched surface 20, thereby transferring the ink impression to the wall of the plastic. The pressure imposed upon the wall of the plastic material is uniform, thereby providing perfect impression printing register for transferring the ink from the etched surface to the plastic wall of the container.

The plastic container of the invention described herein provides product manufacturers with a serviceable container adapted to protect the packaged products for indefinite periods of time, the container being non-breakable, impervious to liquids and gases, and flexible. No metal parts are used in the closure of the container of this invention thereby being conducive of manufacturing economy. The containers may be made of any desired shape, the shape illustrated in the drawings being a preferred design.

The container and method constituting the invention disclosed herein has many attendant advantages that will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the form hereinbefore described representing a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. The method of forming an all plastic resilient heatfusible and heat-scalable rectangular shaped container from two like body-halves of resilient form retaining plastic, pre-shaped by molding, so that each includes a rectangular shaped cavity, said method comprising superimposing end edges of each body half in abutting relation with the cavities thereof opposing and forming theinterior volumetric space of the container, inserting a thin metal strip temporarily between two opposing wall areas which are ultimately to be sealed, said areas and strip extending substantially a full width of the container and constituting the mouth thereof, and heat-fusing the bodyhalves together along their plastic end edge abutments, thereby providing a fillable container having an unsealed linear opening substantially the full width of the container, which opening may readily be opened by application of inward pressure upon the opposing end extremities of said opening.

2. The method of making an all plastic resilient container of pre-heated and heat-fusible plastic sheet material and of two assembled pre-formed body-halves each molded to form an open shaped cavity of said plastic while pre-heated, which includes superimposing flat planar edges of each molded body-half in face abutting relation with said cavities thereof opposing and forming the volumetric open space Within the interior of the container, inserting a thin strip of non-sealable material temporarily intermediate of two opposing wall surface areas, a longitudinal marginal portion thereof to be ultimately sealed together, said areas and strip extending substantially the full width of the container, and heat-fusing the preformed body-halves together along their plastic to plastic superimposing edges, thereby providing a container having resiliently active enclosure walls with marginally opposed portions non-adhered constituting a normally closed month portion thereof extending substantially the width of the container capable of-being flexibly opened for filling and dispensing purposes, the opening of said mouth being effected by imposing inward pressure upon opposed end extremities thereof, and the closing of the mouth being effected by the resilient activity of the shape-retaining structure of enclosure forming walls.

3. An all plastic rectangular container formed of an assembly of two substantially like rectangular shaped body-halves separately formed of pre-heated sheets of resiiient plastic sheet material having thermoplastic properties each body-half being defined as having a full body wall panel integral with four side walls disposed substantially at right angles extending upwardly along defining corner edges of the full panel portion, the defining depth of said side walls being substantially one half the intended spaced width of one pair of opposing side walls of the container when formed, one of the side walls of each body-half being provided with an outwardly extended flat marginal flange portion having its top surface substantially coplanar with the top surface of end edges of the three other side walls, said two defined bodyhalves being assembled together so that said top surface end edges of said side walls are opposed in registered surface to surface abutment, the inner opposed surfaces of said marginal flange portions being disposed upon a temporary non-seal able strip of removable material that is inserted between said inner surfaces, the plastic to plastic abutted top surface edges of assembled body-halves being heat-fused together in seam forming relationship, thereby forming said all plastic container provided with resiliently active enclosure walls arranged in opposing pairs, said inner opposed surfaces of the flange portions constituting the mouth at top of the container normally closed but capable of being flexed open for filling and dispensing purposes of container intended contents.

4. An all plastic container as set forth in claim 3 wherein, the container is heat sealed along a lower longitudinal marginal inner surface portion of the meeting non-adhered flanges, and the upper tin-sealed marginal portion of each flange is turned outwardly and downwardly over said heat sealed margin, thereby providing a pair of oppositely disposed manipular flaps with which to manually sever the seal of said lower margin in the mouth of the container, said mouth being arranged to be further opened by manual pressure when applied inwardly upon the exterior of opposite ends thereof to flex the container open to any extent desired for content dispensing purpose.

5. The method of making and simultaneously printing an all plastic rectangular shaped container formed of pre-heated and heat-fusible resilient plastic sheet material and of assembling two separately pre-shaped body-halves together to form said container and each body-half molded to form side walls that will dcfine an open cavity shaped of said plastic material after pre-heating the plastic, which includes providing an open face cavity mold with a bottom wall movable in flat planar section and providing the upper face of the section with engraving matter suitable for printing, and the cavity mold shaped to be coincident with a half portion of. said container to be formed, positioning the engraved section out of said mold and applying suitable ink thereupon and restoring the inked section to initial position within the mold, placing said pre-heated plastic sheets in registered position over the open face of said cavity mold and deforming the plastic sheets by pressing them upon interior wall surfaces of the mold, thereby shape forming the body-half with an open space cavity while effecting an impression transfer of ink from the engraved section in the mold and upon a defining wall portion of mold shaped body-half, superimposing face edged extremities of two molded body-halves in aligned face to face abutting relation with their respective open space cavities opposing, thereby forming the volumetric space within enclosure walls of the container, inserting a temporary positioned non-scalable strip of thin material between two opposing wall surface areas extending longitudinally across container wall portions constituting the mouth thereof and heat-fusing together the plastic face to face abutted face edged extremities of body-ha1ves in seam forming relationship with said extending surface areas non-adhered, thereby forming a fillable printed container with a normally closed mouth capable of flexing open by inward pressure applied upon opposed end extremities thereof, the mouth when opened closing to normal by resilient elfects of self-supporting enclosure walls of the container structure flexing back to resume normal shape as initially formed.

6. An all plastic rectangular shaped container being formed of an assembly of two substantially like bodyhalves thereof, each body-half part being formed of a separate pro-heated sheet of plastic material having thermoplastic properties, each part being defined as having a full body wall panel integral with four side wall portions arranged in opposing pairs, the depth of said four side walls being substantially one-half the spaced width of one opposed pair of the container side walls when formed, one of said body-half side walls being provided with an outwardly projected flange having its flat face substantially coplanar with the top surface of end defining edges of the other three side walls, said two bodyhalf parts being assembled together having their respective open cavities registered in face opposing relationship with top surface edges of each of the body-halves engaged in surface to surface abutment, said flange portions having their respective inner face surfaces meeting upon surface sides of a temporary inserted nonsealable thin strip of removable material disposed between said portions, the plastic to plastic abutted edge portions of the container assembly being heat-fused together in seam forming relationship, whereby said all plastic container is provided with resilient enclosure walls and meeting surfaces of said flange portions extending substantially central along the top of the container to constitute an elongated mouth thereof normally closed but capable of being flexed open for a filling of intended contents into the container, a lower marginal portion of said meeting flanges being heat sealed together longitudinally across said mouth and the upper non-adhered opposed portions of the margin each being turned outwardly and downwardly to lie freely over opposite sides of the sealed margin, thereby providing a pair of opposite manipular flaps with which to manually open said sealed portion of the margin and hence, open the container for content dispensing purpose without affecting permanent distortion of enclosure walls, said resilient walls of the container structure providing means which flexibly closes the open mouth thereof including the flexed distortion of enclosure Walls in general caused by said dispensing being selfrestored to substantially the same shape as initially constructed and assembled.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,052,081 Miltner Feb. 4, 1913 1,742,516 Mills Jan. 7, 1930 1,744,438 Benson Jan. 21, 1930 1,992,152 Yeates Feb. 19, 1935 2,120,013 Bates June 7, 1938 2,169,825 Warren Aug. 15, 1939 2,262,111 Moore Nov. 11, 1941 2,273,700 Feuerstein Feb. 17, 1942 2,277,050 Reed et al Mar. 24, 1942 2,378,034 Perryman June 12, 1945 2,440,664 "Irons Apr. 27, 1948 2,441,778 Traver May 18, 1948 2,522,346 Carson et al Sept. 12, 1950 2,528,778 Piazze Nov. 7, 1950 2,584,632 Southwick Feb. 5, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,584,633 Southwick Feb. 5, 1952 2,597,704 Carlson May 20, 1952 2,601,700 Pinsky et a1 July 1, 1952 2,644,198 Crawford July 7, 1953 2,648,463 Scherer Aug. 11, 1953 2,679,968 Richter June 1, 1954 

